I paid no heed to his request and told him, “You should get someone else to drop by and take care of you. It’s getting late. I need to return home soon.”
Since the sky had already gotten pitch-black, I really had to return to Ashton soon. To be frank, I wasn’t sure what would occur once I reached home.
John’s expression darkened almost instantly. He replied petulantly, “Do you think that I have anyone else to rely on apart from you? Since you have something else to tend to, feel free to leave!”
I was at a loss for words due to his response. He behaved as though he would give up on himself again. Frowning, I offered, “I’ll get you a caretaker to keep an eye on you.”
“Scarlett! Are you holding a grudge against me? Do you want me dead? Are you going to leave me alone as well?”
“No!” Truthfully, he had never brought upon my misery, yet I couldn’t move on from the things he had done.
The sulky man added, “You do realize that you’re the only one I can rely on, don’t you? Over the past five years, I resisted the urge to approach you because I didn’t want to get in your way and ruin your blissful life. Initially, I thought that I would make it through the darkest moments of my life on my own, but I was wrong—I didn’t expect to encounter you in A City.”
He lowered his gaze and stared at his wounded hand, acting all gloomy. “Ever since we’d last met, I’ve come to realize that I no longer wish to be separated from you any further! Can we return to the good old days? Let’s keep one another company for the rest of our lives! What do you think?”
I couldn’t bring myself to answer him because I knew that he had a ruined childhood—he had been spending his entire life searching for a place to call home.
“John, I have gotten married to someone else and I’ve started my own family. I don’t mind having you in my life, but you should know your place and refrain from going overboard.”
“What’s so great about Ashton? He’s a cruel and violent man! He doesn’t even love you! Why do you want to spend the rest of your life with such a man?”
We needed to stop. Otherwise, he would go berserk again. “You should take good care of yourself for the time being. I’ll go get you a caretaker to keep an eye on you.”
Before he could stop me again, I rushed out of the ward and headed over to the nurse station, asking them to take care of him.
I had no choice but to hail a cab back because I had used John’s car in order to rush him to the hospital. After I reached the villa, I stood in front of the entrance for some time.
To be frank, I was anxious and couldn’t be sure if I could face Ashton.
Nevertheless, it was only a matter of time before I would have to face him in person.
After I brought myself in, I noticed that there was barely any source of illumination in the living room; nonetheless, someone was in the kitchen—it must have been Mrs. Eriksen because she had always enjoyed baking and cooking during her free time.
Perhaps she was in the middle of trying out several new recipes that she had come across on the internet. After I got changed into a pair of indoor sandals, I walked into the living room as I soon noticed that no one was around.
I heaved a sigh of relief as I made my way toward the kitchen. Mrs. Eriksen turned around wide-eyed because she was taken aback by my presence. “Oh, God! Letty! Can you make some noise the next time you approach me? You’ve just given me the shock of my life!”
She patted her chest to comfort herself as she queried, “Did you just arrive? Are you hungry? Come over and check out the things that I’ve prepared for you!” Immediately after she returned to her usual sprightly self, she headed over and showed me the things she had prepared.
I caught a whiff of a pleasant scent and heard my stomach growling. “Mrs. Eriksen, what is it? It smells great!”
She smiled as she started to tell me about her latest recipe. “It’s a potato casserole! I have added some homegrown rosemary as the key condiment! I believe that it gives the entire dish an aromatic fragrance. It’s almost ready. You should head over to the dining hall and wait for me.”
Mrs. Eriksen didn’t want me to be anywhere near the kitchen because she claimed that it would be hard for pregnant women to get used to the stench in the kitchen.
I did as instructed and headed over to the dining hall in anticipation of my meal that was going to be served shortly.
After a few minutes, she showed up in the dining hall with a serving of the freshly baked potato casserole. “It’s fresh out of the oven. You should wait for a while because it’s scorching hot.”
She placed it in front of me and looked at me as if she had something to tell me.
I caught the odd look of hers and decided to be the proactive one. “Mrs. Eriksen, what is it about? Feel free to tell me about the things that are bothering you.”
She replied with a sheepish grin, “Letty, I shouldn’t poke my nose into your business, but I can’t possibly allow things between you and Mr. Ashton to head south anymore. I used to go through the things that you’re currently going through, and I don’t want you to end up miserable like me. I have to stop you before things between both of you get to the point of no return. Otherwise, I’m afraid that the late Mr. Fuller will cast the blame on me.”
I responded with a faint smile because I knew that she had brought it up for my sake. “Mrs. Eriksen, you don’t have to be afraid. Over the years, you’ve been the one who has taken care of me during my days here. I have long thought of you as a senior of mine. Feel free to share whatever you have in mind with me. I’ll definitely take it into consideration and give it a thought.”
She heaved a long sigh as she eventually told me of the issue that had been bothering her. “Ever since Mr. Ashton returned, he locked himself up in the study room. I saw his back drenched in blood. Can you please serve him his dinner and talk things through with him? If it’s possible, please check on his wound on my behalf because he paid no heed to the things that I had told him. As a married couple, both of you should stop fighting over such trivial issues and stop holding a grudge against one another. Open up to one another. Otherwise, it will accumulate and blow up in the near future.”
I nodded and told Mrs. Eriksen to get me a serving of the potato casserole immediately because I was worried about Ashton’s wound. “I’ll head over and check on him at once.”
Mrs. Erikson chuckled as she uttered, “It’s fine! You should prioritize yourself over him. I’m sure that you must be starving after such a long day since you’re heavily pregnant. Take your time and finish your meal before you head over to check on him.”
I knew that she was worried about me. Seeing as such, I took my time and finished my meal as I was instructed. In the end, I told her, “You don’t have to worry, Mrs. Eriksen. I’ll finish my meal before I head upstairs.”
